The Dance Impermanence: An Artistic Inquiry Through Improvisation

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Columbia College Chicago

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Creative Arts Therapies Theses Thesis & Capstone Collection

5-16-2015

The Dance Impermanence: An Artistic Inquiry

Through Improvisation

Julie Frances Brannen

Columbia College Chicago

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Recommended Citation

Brannen, Julie Frances, "The Dance Impermanence: An Artistic Inquiry Through Improvisation" (2015).Creative Arts Therapies Theses. 57.

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THE DANCE OF IMPERMANENCE:

AN ARTISTIC INQUIRY THROUGH IMPROVISATION Julie Frances Brannen, GL-CMA

Thesis submitted to the faculty of Columbia College Chicago in partial fulfillment of the requirements for

Master of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling

Department of Creative Arts Therapies May 16, 2015

Committee:

Susan Imus, BC-DMT, LCPC, GL-CMA Chair, Department of Creative Arts Therapies

Laura Downey, BC-DMT, LPC, GL-CMA Research Coordinator

Jessica Young, BC-DMT, LCPC, GL-CMA Thesis Advisor

Kyla Gilmore, BC-DMT, LCPC Thesis Advisor

Kris Larsen, BC-DMT, LCPC, GL-CMA Reader

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Abstract

This research study investigated the use of movement improvisation to create dance/ movement therapy (DMT) based interventions around the Buddhist concept of impermanence, or natural endings in life (Chodron, 1997). As the sole-researcher and participant were identical, the purpose of this research was to investigate how change can be facilitated, focusing on the

researcher’s personal experience to then apply as an emerging dance/movement therapist. The research was conducted through an artistic inquiry, which used arts-based methods as means of data collection, data analysis, and presentation of findings. Through improvisation, the

researcher embodied impermanence as it related to concepts of holding on and letting go, specifically—stability and mobility, rigidity and chaos, and tension and release. Data was collected via video-recording of the researcher’s improvisation sessions, culminating in select DMT interventions, as well as by personal journal entries. The DMT interventions’ movements were coded through a Movement Assessment Coding Sheet (MACS). All forms of data were analyzed using Ogden’s (2006) Sensorimotor Psychotherapy five core organizers and

Riessman’s (2008) Narrative Analysis, providing thematic patterns and chronicled relationships. Findings were synthesized and performed in the form of choreography inspired by created DMT interventions, concept embodiments’ salient movement qualities, and the researcher’s personal development. Findings suggested a distinct parallel process between the researcher and research topic, suggesting that personal transformation occurs through awareness of body/mind patterns, application of embodiment, and ownership of challenges. Based on the identified process of change, certain DMT implications and future research inquiries are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

Thank you to the Columbia College Chicago Department of Creative Arts Therapies faculty. Each one of you has helped shape me into the person and therapist I am today. Your loving, supportive, and fierce energy was invaluable.

Thank you to Lenore Hervey, who gave me financial and moral support for this Artistic Inquiry study. Receiving the Artistic Inquiry Scholarship was an honor, and my performance would not have been possible without you. Thank you for empowering me with the knowledge and

assurance of this methodology’s value in the field.

Thank you to my thesis advisors, Jessica Young, who served as a gentle and direct guidance throughout the beginning of my research process, who then passed on the reigns to Kyla Gilmore, who supported and attuned to my rigorous writing process. Thank you to my reader, Kris Larsen, who inspired me to take on this massive topic in the first place. Thank you to Laura Downey, who instilled confidence in me as a novice researcher. And, thank you to Bethany Brownholtz, my editor, who gave me honest feedback and pristine revises.

Thank you to the participants of my resonance panel, who volunteered their time, insight, and knowledge. Your presence and feedback provided me with validating and grounding thoughts. Thank you to Ben Whalen, who showed me the value of recuperation. Thank you to my peers and colleagues, especially my roommate, Bobbi McKissick, and shame-fighter, Sondra Malling. And finally, thank you to my wonderful family for your steadfast encouragement to follow my dreams.

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Chapter One: Introduction

In my journey as an emerging dance/movement therapist, I found the idea of change and transformation to be fundamental. Like many developing therapists in graduate school, I was exposed to countless theories, belief systems, and methodologies of other professionals in the field. I began to notice a trend. From my perspective, all of these scholars had a common goal within the practice of psychotherapy—to elicit change and healing for the individual with which they worked. Change, growth, transformation, and healing seemed interconnected. In order for healing to take place, space for change needed to be carved out by the therapist and client. This idea can be viewed in the literal sense, creating time and space for the individual seeking help and the helper to interact, and in the psychological sense, creating space within the individual, such as clearing the mind of cluttered thoughts or developing self-compassion, for a shift of the body and mind to occur. Dance/movement therapy (DMT) serves as a holistic vehicle to create this healing space.

In the field of DMT, clients’ awareness of the body/mind connection is essential. This awareness is facilitated by the dance/movement therapist, and cultivated within the client’s relationship to self and other. However, change requires much more than awareness, and elicits an unknown factor—how change happens. How to facilitate change became more interesting than the notions of when or why. This fundamental question—how do I facilitate change—fueled my curiosity and sparked my desire to investigate.

My personal process as a developing therapist and young person mirrored my interest in how change occurs. The parallel process between my learning material and self-awareness was dynamic and powerful. Many realms of myself, physical, mental, and spiritual began to manifest the constant need to shift within the ever-evolving journey of learning. This need to continually

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shift my ideas and perspective required a releasing of my past story; I was discovering new meaning. The present—who I was becoming—seized my attention.

With a heightened awareness of my body, mind, and spirit connection, I began to resonate with a higher power and a desire for spiritualism. I was drawn to the organic nature of Buddhist teachings, rooted in Eastern culture and history. The truths of this spiritual perspective draw from the power of present moment awareness and the idea that everything is temporary. Specifically, I found the influential writings of Chodron (1997) to be particularly comforting during phases of loss and grief. I was introduced to the term impermanence, or “the decay that is inherent in all component things” (Chodron, 1997, p. 34). As an operational definition,

impermanence is the acceptance of the ephemeral nature of this and every moment, allowing for letting go to take place.

The father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, also maintained an interest in the

ephemeral nature of life. Freud (1915) explored the inherent pressure that is created between the appreciation of life and the impending destiny of death in his essay discussing transience:

Transience value is scarcity value in time. Limitation in the possibility of an enjoyment raises the value of the enjoyment. It was incomprehensible, I declared, that the thought of the transience of beauty should interfere with our joy in it. As regards the beauty of Nature, each time it is destroyed by winter it comes again next year, so that in relation to the length of our lives it can in fact be regarded as eternal. The beauty of the human form and face vanish forever in the course of our own lives, but their evanescence only lends them a fresh charm (p. 2).

Freud illuminated the thoughts I was experiencing. It was clear that the present moment was the only true experience; it all—nature, beauty, life—fades with passing time. From the big

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picture, each human life has a beginning and an end—birth and death, and from the microscopic view, each breath has a beginning and end—inhale and exhale. Moreover, there are two ways in which one can react to this paradigm—one can choose to hold on or let go.

I began to wonder how I could create a bridge between the spiritual concept of impermanence and the practice of DMT. My theoretical framework as an emerging

dance/movement therapist and researcher—humanistic psychology and client-centered therapy— aligned around the time I chose this topic. As a student and researcher, I was interested in the holistic nature of humanistic perspective, focusing on the positive image of what it means to be human. As a therapist, I found that my tendency was to be guided by my clients, supporting them as they directed our sessions’ outcomes. The founder of the humanistic psychology movement, Rogers (1989) developed the client-centered therapy approach, where the therapist offers unconditional positive regard towards the client in the psychotherapeutic process. This theoretical framework focuses on methods that allow fulfillment of potential and growth for clients.

As my spiritual and theoretical framework aligned, I wondered how the relationship transpires between psychotherapeutic change/growth and impermanence. Simply stated, these are both vast and intangible concepts. I had to find a way to solidify these concepts into a tangible entity to research. One of my professors encouraged me to focus on how the concept of impermanence could manifest within the body. This helped me simplify what the concept meant to me at the most fundamental level—letting go. Therefore, I asked myself what are ways to embody this concept that attuned to the act of letting go, and perhaps to the opposite act of holding on. Within this dichotomy, I aimed to emphasize the oppositional tension experienced by human nature when faced with the experience of the ever-evolving present moment.

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As an emerging dance/movement therapist and dancer, movement is at the forefront of my practice. I began to see the themes of present moment awareness and ephemeral experience as cornerstones to the practice of embodiment. Moore and Yamamoto (1988) further affirmed these paradoxes; body movement is at once natural and contrived, visceral and symbolic, personal and social, ever present and constantly disappearing. Our body movements and

movements of others and ourselves are so constant and ubiquitous that we tend to cease noticing them. It takes conscious effort to notice our movement patterns and tendencies.

Lifetime dance maker and artist, Hay (2001), shared this ever-changing view on human movement. In her lecture at the American Dance Therapy Conference, she recognized

impermanence as a “steadily transforming present” (p. 12). She questioned if anything she sees in art and in life is forever. Hay also identified dance and movement as therapeutic by noting two experiences that are as inseparable in life as they are occurrences in the body, “the weight of the past mingles with the weightlessness of becoming” (p. 13). The author spoke about this

relationship in the context of performance. The acceptance of the past serves as a releasing and opening for change, allowing the present moment to happen. Essentially human movement, represented symbolically in the art form of dance, is a way to recognize the impermanent and ever-changing human experience.

At the foreground of my training to become a dance/movement therapist was a method in which to observe and analyze movement. Rudolf Laban created Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) as a framework to categorize and describe movement as the essence of life and the mirror of humankind. My classmates and I used LMA as a foundation. Moore and Yamamoto (2012) summarized LMA into general principles, one of them was movement is a process of change. Commonly, movement is defined as a change in place or position. An action begins in one place

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and ends in another and, through perception of this change; we know that movement has

occurred. However, while the difference between the beginning and ending locations of an action may be indicative of motion, movement itself is a position or even a change of positions. Rather, movement is the process of changing.

Yet, within change, Laban observed patterns and order. Laban (1974) stated that describing movement as a process of change can give the mover or observer of the mover an uneasy feeling because it is fleeting and in an “uninterrupted flux” (p. 37). However, the mover develops repeatable movement habits, providing an underlying pattern to change that may be perceived. Laban asserted that, within this underlying pattern, there are alternating rhythms of stability and mobility. This patterning of rhythmic alteration between stability and mobility intrigued me. Stability, as Laban defined it, “does not mean either rest or absolute stillness” (p. 43). As an operational definition, stability is the tendency to facilitate temporary and relative quietude, which is equilibrium. Mobility, on the contrary, means a tendency towards vivid, flowing movement, leading to a temporary loss of equilibrium. All movements cycle between the rhythmical changes of stability and mobility.

Moreover, the study of movement requires the study of patterns within the individual. Laban (1971) explained that the manner in which a person applies energy, or Effort, to fight against or indulge in an experience, allows that person to penetrate the “inner world in which impulses continually surge and seek an outlet in doing” (p. 17). While individuals do show habitual preferences for certain Effort configurations, human beings also possess the capacity to comprehend the nature of Effort qualities and their patterning in dynamic sequences. Likewise, humans may intentionally seek to alter their movement habits through conscious training. Laban used the term “humane effort” to characterize such developmental attempts (p. 15). Humane

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effort is the intentional capacity, to vary and at will the kind of energies employed in an action, that distinguishes human action from the actions of animals and the mechanical motions of inanimate objects. Laban asserted that this concept is imperative to movement education, study, and self-development.

During my clinical internship, I noticed specific mental patterns within the clients with which I worked. These clients had ranges of diagnoses from substance abuse to psychotic disorders. It was clear that they were seeking treatment because their issues paralyzed them. They were holding onto some aspect of themselves, a story, a diagnosis, a memory, and an experience that defined who they were. At the basic sense of understanding, I experienced them as being either extremes of mental rigidity or chaos. Siegel (2012) explained the effects of lack of integration, in the brain and the body itself, as the underlying mechanism to well-being and mental health. Siegel asserted that a mind with mental illness cannot regulate and integrate the flow of energy and information. Therefore, the manifestation produces either rigidity or chaos. To provide further operational definitions, rigidity is the act of unyielding and inflexible state of being. Conversely, chaos is a total lack of organization, a state of utter confusion and disorder.

Meanwhile, another dichotomy fascinated me, relating to movement: how holding on and letting go manifests in the human body. In the practice of bioenergetics, the human personality is considered in terms of energetic processes of the body. Lowen (1975) asserted that bioenergetics rests on the proposition that each person is their body. No person exists apart from the living body in which they exists, expresses, and relates to the world around them. Lowen described “the life of an individual is the life of [their] body…since the living body includes the mind, the spirit and the soul, to live the life of the body fully is to be mindful, spiritual and soulful” (p. 42-43). In this realm of thought, bodily muscular tensions structure a person’s responses to their

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surroundings and define the roles they play in life. Further, this type of therapy asserted that bodily tensions as “distortions and unnatural” and a result of long habituation (p. 104).

Therefore, I wondered how the concepts of tension and release could be related the embodiment of holding and letting go.

In another layer of developing my research topic, and from an artistic standpoint, I was drawn to the practice of improvisation. While engaging in movement improvisation, I could exist, trust, and create in the present moment. Albright and Gere (2003) asserted that

improvisation is a form of research, a way of peering in the complex natural system that is a human being, providing “another way of thinking, one that produces ideas impossible to conceive in stillness” (p. 27). Improvisation allowed me to experience the present moment, without edits or conditions, processing information and stimuli at a given time. This act of engaging in movement in the present moment served as means of working with impermanence. The practice of improvisation was the ideal bridge between theory and practice of my research topic.

As I continued to be exposed to aforementioned theories, practices, and experiences, I began to make connections. I began to postulate how change in the body can create change in the mind, and how that process can have significant meaning. Therefore, the purpose of my research was to investigate all of the above curiosities through the following question: How can

improvisation around the concept of impermanence facilitate the creation of DMT interventions that support letting go of old patterns and accepting change? The explored concepts related to impermanence were stability, mobility, rigidity, chaos, tension, and release. Each two concepts were chosen as dichotomies of each other, allowing for opposing embodiment experiences. Additionally, within the LMA framework, I noticed the relationship between an underlying

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quality of movement, described as the going-ness or flow, and the idea of letting go. I

accompanied my main research question with a sub-question: How is the access of flow related

to the embodiment of impermanence?

In conducting this research, I not only examined these questions, but expanded representation of this concept within the DMT literature. The motivation and purpose of my research was to further my self-awareness as a developing dance/movement therapist, affirm my emerging lens of clinical psychotherapy, and integrate lifelong interests, such as human

development, personal growth, artistic expression, and spiritual practice into present day work. Additionally, I was able to make connections between the artistic practices of improvisation to the creation of clinical DMT interventions that align with the concept of impermanence.

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Chapter Two: Literature Review

In this literature review, I will create a context for exploring the intersection of DMT and impermanence. I will provide definitions for several concepts related to the topic of

impermanence, as a foundation for understanding: present moment, mindfulness, growth/change, and spirituality. In order to illuminate gaps in the existing literature and demonstrate the need for my research study, I will also focus on the intersection of impermanence with the following areas: neuroscience, psychotherapy/therapeutic relationship, and DMT. The existing literature contains theoretical explanations as well as focuses on psychotherapy with the above topics, where applicable. A small amount of the literature yields results from research studies.

Moreover, none of the existing information has ventured into the specific field of DMT, nor has it made the specific connection of DMT to the theory of impermanence.

American Buddhist nun, Chodron (1997), wrote a book devoted to the concept of radical compassion and the escape of pain and suffering. In her book, she offered approaches to

suffering by moving towards painful situations with friendliness and curiosity, relaxing into what is uncomfortable. Among these approaches is the appreciation of impermanence, or “natural endings”, in life and death (p. 48). The idea of natural endings, according to Chodron (1997) and Eastern Tibetan Buddhist practitioners is necessary to acknowledge and accept as a source of healing. Chodron expressed that humans must become friendly with their suffering in order to truly appreciate happiness and experience comfort. In addition, Chodron suggested that when difficult times arise, and life presents endings, that we must recognize these times as moments of impermanence or “natural shifts in life”, and that nothing lasts forever (p. 49). The acceptance of this concept facilitates a curative factor by acknowledging that even pain or discomfort is

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Impermanence Foundations

Present moment. The concept of present moment is the baseline to understanding impermanence. According to Parks (2008), the present moment is “experiencing right now in its entirety with mindfulness and awareness” (p. 2). Weiss (2008) described the use of mindfulness and present moment in a slightly different way than Parks (2008): “the act of teaching the mind to stay in the present moment as a way to awaken from mental and emotional processes” (p. 3). Weiss (2008) declared the concept of present moment as a process that must be cultured and experienced daily. Both Parks (2008) and Weiss (2008) viewed the present moment as an experience of awakening and manifesting presence. Yet, Parks (2008) viewed this experience as passive process while Weiss (2008) saw it as more active involvement from the practitioner.

Further, Stern (2004) added that we are subjectively alive and conscious only “now”. He explained that “now” is when we directly live our lives, and that the present moment is the only time of raw subjective phenomenological experience (p. 37). Parks, Weiss, and Stern shared a view of the present moment as a practice of the mind experiencing right now in its entirety. Furthermore, a gap in the literature revealed that the two concepts of impermanence and present moment have not yet been scholarly related.

Mindfulness. Khong (2009) defined mindfulness as a way of being and experiencing the world. In ancient Eastern philosophy, Khong described the ontological dimension of Buddha’s teachings, “refers to the fundamental nature of beings, things, and phenomena” (p. 1). This dimension of Buddhist history provides a lens through which to view mindfulness. Through mindfulness, the individual can become aware of personal perception and natural way of existing.

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Conversely, in a more western mindset, Siegel (2007) asserted that the contemplative practice of mindfulness extends beyond the conventional understanding as that which “is often seen as a form of attentional skill that focuses one’s mind on the present” (p. xiii). Above and beyond developing a deeper awareness of the present moment, mindfulness meditation is more fundamentally “a form of healthy relationship with oneself” (p. xiii). In mindfulness practices, the individual sits with emotions and thoughts, allowing space and time for self-awareness and regulation to occur. Moreover, Beauregard and O’Leary (2007) provided research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology, which investigates the relationship between the mind, the brain, and the immune system, lends considerable support to Siegel (2007), who brought this idea to neuroscience. To be mindfully aware —through the ongoing practice of contemplative

meditation—is beneficial for the mental processes that affect the brain and body. (Siegel, 2007; Beauregard & O’Leary, 2007).

Growth and change. Due to the nature of the profession, the concept of growth and change is prevalent in the fields of psychotherapy and counseling. Particularly, the field of DMT utilizes body movement as action towards a clinical goal, providing a vehicle for change through personification. Unfortunately, this direct involvement of the body is not shared with other fields. Koch and Fischman (2011) encouraged the field of DMT to engage in “enaction and

embodiment approaches with other psychotherapy fields” (p. 3). Koch and Fischman described enaction as “conceiving knowledge by action in the world” and embodiment as “physically representing a quality or idea” (p. 3). Further, the authors introduced the idea of emergence as “the temporary, but coherent coming into existence of new forms through ongoing processes essential to the system” (p. 4). The authors labeled this process as a single act that is perceived, created, or transformed and meaning is made. Through reinforcement of enaction and

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embodiment, the moment of emergence is possible and necessary. Yet, even though these concepts are important, the authors acknowledged a gap in research and practice of growth and change within psychotherapy and counseling practices.

Similarly, Hartman and Zimberoff (2005) described growth as the “process of becoming someone else and, in particular, the aspects of that process that occur in between states, the transitional experiences” (p. 12). The authors described these experiences as special windows of opportunity for growth and development. These experiences can be viewed in the microcosm of one’s life, as moments: within the context of everyday life, within the process of psychotherapy, and within the practice of spirituality. These authors identified a connection between an

individual’s growth and change in relation to their process of life, and most importantly, in their psychotherapy process. Hartman and Zimberoff (2005) as well as Koch and Fischman (2011) viewed growth and change as a necessary aspect of personal and psychotherapeutic processes; the authors also suggested that growth is a natural development of an individual’s emergence into the world, transitioning who they are in order to accept change.

Spirituality. Religion differs from spirituality in that it refers to a specific system of beliefs and organized practice of worship, ritual, or belonging to a sect of individuals (Traupman, 1966). In contrast, Eliason, Hanley, and Leventis (2007) expressed that spirituality derives its meaning from spirit, or the Latin spiritus, which means breath, inspiration, character, or also, soul. In Hebrew, Greek, and Roman cultures, the spirit was literally the breath of life (Eliason, Hanley, & Leventis, 2007). Equally, Western belief systems viewed the spirit as that which is other than our physical, or corporeal body, giving us life and self-awareness (Eliason and Smith 2004).

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DMT master’s student, Rothwell (2006), explored the question of how dance/movement therapists experience and described spirit as it manifests with the DMT context. In her thesis, she defined spirituality as the presence of a higher power, “something bigger than you and me” (p. 11). On the other hand, the belief that one’s personal spirit can be nurtured and developed without conventional religion, or belief in a god(s), is gaining acceptance among many counselors and other helping professions. As Young, Cashwell, and Woolington (1998) have described spirituality as the “core reciprocal component of the overall wellness of the individual rather than as a stand-alone or isolated dimension” (p. 65). Spiritual health includes the concept of spirit as a life-giving force. Young et al. (1998) presented a different facet of spirituality than Rothwell (2006): while Rothwell (2006) found that spirituality is an individual experience and manifests in a higher power, Young et al. (1998) expressed spirituality as part of an integrated and overall wellness entity in an individual’s life.

Conversely, Chandler, Holden, and Kolander (1992) asserted that the spirit is “the innate capacity to, and tendency to seek to, transcend one’s current locus of centricity, which

transcendence involves increased knowledge and love” (p. 169). The authors asserted that spiritual wellness is a balance between repression of one’s spirituality and total immersion in one’s spirituality. This balance is attainable through the loss and gain of self-awareness. Similarly, Myers and Sweeney (2003) viewed spirituality as “an awareness of a being or force that transcends the material aspects of life and gives a deep sense of wholeness or connectedness to the universe” (p. 253). The belief in an organizing force or power in the universe is essential to the concept of spirituality. When an individual is able to feel integrated with this energy, he or she has connected with a dynamic essence and is capable of being one with nature (Helminiak, 2001; Murgatroyd, 2001).

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In the realm of grief and loss, Kinnier, Tribbensee, Rose, and Vaughan (2001)

interviewed individuals who had near-death experiences and found that after confronting their own mortality, there was less fear of death, more appreciation of life, and a deep need to make relationships meaningful. According to the interviewees, it took facing death to emphasize the importance of spiritual effects of connectedness. Simply put, making meaning of death seems to enhance an individual’s tendency to seek out spirituality and meaning in life.

Psychology and Psychotherapy Intersections

Neuroscience. Hanson and Mendius (2009) studied the neurological affects of Buddhist principles and practice. They asserted that “something transcendental is involved with the mind, consciousness, and the path of awakening—call it God, Spirit, Buddha-nature, the Ground, or by no name at all,” and that name it goes by this transcendental dimension is ultimately “beyond the physical universe” (p. 9). These authors explained what happens within the brain when the practice of consciousness, such as meditation, becomes integrated into daily life: as little as 12 minutes of meditation a day can result in an increased size of the brain’s pre-frontal cortex. Therefore, can physical embodiment of mindfulness yield neurological benefits and spiritual awakenings?

Similarly, in the literature of pastoral counseling, the mounting evidence from

neuroscience suggested that a deepening and evolving spiritual practice, such as meditation or prayer, will further one’s development far more than holding consistently to a particular belief and/or doctrines (Eliason & Smith, 2004). Likewise, from the perspective of neuroscience, Beauregard and O’Leary (2007) viewed mindfulness as a trend towards gaining spiritual awareness. All sets of authors, Hanson and Mendius (2009), Eliason and Smith (2004), and Beauregard and O’Leary (2007), asserted that the deepening of one’s spiritual practice will not

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only open their perspective beyond what is already known, but also move humans toward a new level of consciousness.

In relation to psychopathology, clinical practitioners Beauregard and O’Leary (2007) demonstrated the application of mindfulness meditation to the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder could produce tangible changes in a client’s neural circuitry and brain structure. The authors pointed out, “what was one a neural footpath” in the brain of the obsessive-compulsive individual grows over time “into a twelve-lane highway whose deafening traffic takes over the neural neighborhood” (p. 128). Yet, there is hope that through intentional and ongoing

contemplative awareness and practice, the neural neighborhood can be quieted down and made more manageable. The authors declared that “neuroplasticity [the ability of neurons to shift their connections and responsibilities] make that possible” (p. 129). The individual engaging in daily contemplative practice and mindfulness meditation is not who he or she used to be, but instead, a new creation.

Likewise, McEwen and Lasley (2002) asserted, “we can alter not only the functioning but also the structure of the neural networks in our brains” (p. 120). More specifically, by repeating certain meaningful spiritual mantras and by engaging in repeated contemplative practices, humans have the capacity to become a new and more highly developed creation. This will not happen overnight, but in time can be possible if practitioners are patient with and compassionate toward themselves. When they repeat a spiritual mantra until they remember it, “[they] have made a long-term, possibly permanent, change in [their] brains” (p. 149). The practice becomes a way to develop new brain patterns, ultimately changing—if only a little bit— who a person is.

Psychotherapy and therapeutic relationship. From a clinical perspective, Stern (2004) placed present moment in the center of psychotherapy and linked it to the process of change.

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Stern defined the present moment as being made up of small momentary events that enter one’s awareness and are shared between two people, specifically therapist and client. These lived experiences, made up the key moments of change in psychotherapy, foster the connection in everyday intimate relations.

In the context of the therapeutic relationship, Rogers (1989) stated that when two individuals encounter one another, both are changed. The essence of a good counseling

relationship is one in which the counselor uses his/her personal experience, self awareness, and faith to positively affect the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship. The profoundly intimate and human act of one person being present for another, demonstrating empathy, and

unconditional love can be healing (Eliason & Smith, 2004; Rogers, 1989). One might go so far as to say, the act of being present allows for spiritual presence (Eliason et al., 2007, 2001).

Mindful awareness and the awareness of the present moment cannot be considered merely optional among clinical practitioners. The art of contemplative practice is the main aspect of spiritual life, as it has been all along and especially now in the light of neuroscience research (McEwen & Lasley, 2002). As Siegel (2007) pointed out, “Being mindfully aware, attending to the richness of our here-and-now experiences, creates scientifically recognized enhancements in our physiology, our mental functions, and our interpersonal relationships” (p. xiii). Similarly, Weiss (2009) suggested that mindfulness makes psychotherapy faster, easier, and more loving while simultaneously sharpening consciousness. This opens the client to a tremendous resource of self- introspection, observation, and reflection.

Correspondingly, Wegela (2011) wrote that the concept of impermanence is existent in everyday relationships. The author described the sense of groundlessness occurring when unexpected change happens, our normal reference points are no longer in place; therefore

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humans feel that their ground has been swept out from under them. Wegela also described the possibility of “discovering our true nature in these moments” and stressed the need for

mindfulness in order to move closer to others (p. 146). Furthermore, the author compared the view of impermanence in relationships to the termination stage of the therapeutic process. Eventually, the therapeutic relationship also inevitably comes to an end. As Stern (2004) and Weiss (2009) viewed the present moment as a correlation to therapeutic change, Wegela (2011) observed impermanence or present moment to the ending of a therapeutic relationship. The possibility of these correlations lends itself to many exciting research opportunities.

DMT. In relationship to human movement, two authors viewed impermanence as a way of experiencing. Moore and Yamamoto (2012) acknowledged that movement becomes less conscious as humans develop with age. As the concentration on movement shifts out of humans’ central consciousness, along goes the mindfulness that accompanies it. Moore and Yamamoto further stated, “movement is ever present and constantly disappearing” (pg. 6). As a result, dance and movement is not only ephemeral but also illusory. These authors proposed the importance to bring mindfulness back to movement, recognizing that any movement moment is happening here and now and never again.

In addition, Stern (2004), although not a dance/movement therapist, regarded important issues relevant to DMT, such as non-verbal communication and present moment experience. Stern concluded that the present moment is a special kind of story, “a lived story that is

nonverbal and need not put into words” (p. 36). This interpersonal information is simultaneously taken in as it is unfolding. Stern maintained the “knowing about it cannot be verbal, symbolic, and explicit”; rather he described it as “falling into the domain of implicit knowing” (p. 112). It is “nonsymbolic, nonverbal, and nonconscious [not involving conscious processing] in the sense

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of not being reflectively conscious” (p. 113). While implicit communication is often primarily associated with motor actions, it also includes affects, expectations, shifts in activation and motivation, and styles of thought—all of which can happen during the few seconds of a present moment. Stern upheld that repeated motor patterns play a prominent healing role in

psychotherapy. Change can come through shifts in implicit knowing. Thus, healing can take place in the moment without reference to the past and without the use of cognitive interpretations or concepts.

Likewise, Parks (2008) explored the role of the present moment experience in the work of DMT. Parks (2008) found that therapeutic presence, or the therapist being fully in the moment—physically, emotionally, cognitively, and spiritually—with a client, is necessary for healing to occur. Parks (2008) further explained a therapist’s experience of therapeutic presence involves being grounded in a healthy sense of self, while being receptive and immersed with what is poignant in the moment, and with a larger sense of spaciousness and expansion of awareness and perception. This grounded, immersed, and expanded awareness occurs with the intention of being with and for another, in service of the client’s healing process. Moreover, Stern (2004) viewed the importance of body awareness and implicit knowing as a way to practice empathy and establish interpersonal relationships. Both Parks (2008) and Stern (2004) shared views of therapeutic presence as an inroad to nonverbal psychotherapy practices. Conclusion

This literature review’s goal was to create a framework to explore the intersection of DMT and impermanence. I illuminated the similarities of an Eastern centered concept of impermanence to more commonly understood philosophies, such as present moment,

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and theory such as neuroscience, psychotherapy, therapeutic relationship, and DMT. It is

apparent that the idea of present moment and mindfulness has been linked to growth and change in psychotherapy and recent findings in neuroscience (Beauregard & O’Leary, 2007; Eliason & Smith, 2004; Hanson & Mendius, 2009; McEwen & Lasley, 2002). There is also information on the relationship of personal change to the therapeutic process (Eliason & Smith, 2004; Parks, 2008; Rogers, 1989; Stern, 2004; Wegela, 2011). However, there are missing links between body-centered psychotherapies, such as DMT, directly to the concept of impermanence.

Therefore, this gap in the literature presented an opportunity for my study to shed light on the relationships between DMT, impermanence, and transformation. At the fundamental level, I was interested in the relationship between movement and this concept of natural endings

(Chodron, 1997). My knowledge of LMA allowed me to deepen this exploration and create a movement study. The practice of improvisation, creating movement in the present moment, is an area of curiosity for me as an artist and a novice therapist—to trust in the vitality of the moment. Moreover, I wondered how these foundations and practices could help me facilitate change and transformation. These opportunities for new research lead me to certain investigative

wonderings, specifically my research question and sub-question, respectively: How can

improvisation around the concept of impermanence facilitate the creation of DMT interventions that support letting go of old patterns and accepting change? How is the access of flow related to the embodiment of impermanence? The juncture of noticing my clinical perspective and gaps in existing literature provided space for my personal motivation to have academic competence. It set the stage for my research study to take place.

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Chapter Three: Methods

In order to answer my research questions, I did a qualitative artistic inquiry. Artistic inquiry, as outlined by Hervey (2000), utilizes art making in any or all of the research process; art making may be used to collect, analyze, or present data. I chose the artistic inquiry

methodology due to its emphasis on creativity, as this supports the nature of movement improvisation and empowers the researcher’s individual and aesthetic lens.

Methodology

Several commonalities exist between qualitative research and the practice of creative arts therapies, particularly dance/movement therapy, creating a natural alignment (Creswell, 1998). Aigen’s (1993) tenets of qualitative studies were used as a guideline, identifying overlaps between psychotherapy, especially humanistic approaches, and qualitative research, which were relevant to, and essential in, my study: the researcher (a) is considered the instrument of practice, (b) undertakes transformation, (c) takes measures to ensure an unbiased stance, (d) avoids

generalizing, and (e) maintains a flexible research approach.These guidelines are similar to psychotherapy in the sense that the therapist uses an unbiased and flexible approach, and at times, emphasizes herself as resource for working with a client.

In addition, the researcher as instrument meant that I would function as a real person in both the role of therapist and role of researcher. In the context of research, a real person

embraces rather than avoids human emotions. Although my study was not directly related to psychotherapy, it can be viewed as a development factor to my journey of becoming a therapist by processing emotions and illuminating personal barriers. Embracing my humanness as a researcher was a necessary tool to understand and translate the human experience—allowing me to more deeply grasp and describe study results. Next, transformation refers to the experience of

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growth and change for the researcher. Aigen (1993) stated that qualitative researchers are also deeply impacted by their research endeavors and the deepening understanding they gain as they study the diversity of human experience.

In regards to the stance of the researcher, biases and values are kept in check through supervisors, advisors, and colleagues. I had this support system in place, during my study and writing process, in order to increase awareness around my potential biases, prejudices, and perspectives. Because this research study investigated change using my personal experience, this aspect of support was essential. Additionally, the theme of generalizability influenced both my personal process and the qualitative research. In my personal process, the uniqueness of the individual was valued instead of generalizing to the journey of others. And in the qualitative research, the profound understanding of a specific phenomenon was of more interest than providing predictions regarding future encounters.

Lastly, Aigen (1993) discussed the necessity of having a flexible research approach, to recognize that the process often takes unexpected twists and turns, and that the researcher must be prepared to move with these changes. Too rigid of an approach would have limited my process; it was important to maintain this flexible approach, especially with the nature of improvising movement in the moment. My research process consisted of open-ended research methods and unfolded as phenomena were engaged and examined. I let the unfolding process of the research guide me.

My qualitative study used the artistic inquiry methodology. This methodology resonated with me within its valued framework guidelines: engaging in art-making, preserving the

aesthetics of the researcher, and fostering a creative process. The artistic inquiry approach focuses on artistic knowing and creative experimentation. Critical points for differentiation of

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artistic inquiry from other approaches include; art making that occurs in response to the research question, and a focus on creative process (McNiff, 1987, 1994, 1998). Also, the researcher’s corresponding methods valued both the subjective nature of movement and the aesthetic

preferences of the researcher in preparation, data collection, analysis, and presentation stages of research.

According to Hervey (2000), understanding human experience needs an epistemological approach, requiring ways of knowing that can best be described as aesthetic, emotional, and intuitive. The artistic inquiry methodology captures this approach, providing a platform for the researcher to explore these ways of knowing (Eisner, 1997). The artistic practice I used for artistic inquiry was improvisation, being led by intuition and emotion and incorporating creative experimentation. With improvisation practices, I used pure art-making (movement), present moment experience, and self-reflection to explore the research question and sub question. I incorporated Albright and Gere’s (2003) ways of knowing that grow out of a flow state of mind, where the self-critic shuts down and mindfulness emerges.

The improvisation dancer tacks back and forth between the known and the unknown, between the familiar/reliable and the unanticipated/unpredictable. The known includes any predetermined overarching score for the performance, the body’s predisposition to move in patterns of impulses, and that which has occurred previously in the performance of improvising. Albright and Gere (2003) illuminated that the unknown is precisely that and more. It is a process of examining the unimaginable, that which the dancer could not have thought of doing next. Improvisation presses the mover to extend to, expand beyond, and remove herself from that, which is known.

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Correspondingly, I used principles of Authentic Movement as a framework for my research process. Authentic Movement bridges many dualities including individual and

community energy, psychotherapy and mindfulness practices, and ritualistic and improvisational processes. Authentic Movement derived from the work of the pioneering dance/movement therapist Mary Whitehouse and extended by her student, Janet Adler (Levy, 2005). Additionally, it is grounded in the relationship between two roles – the witness and the mover. Adler (1985) explained the relationship between the mover and witness is an extremely active one, allowing unconscious processes to become conscious. Although my process did not include authentic movement techniques directly, it was infused with the relationship between myself as the mover and myself as the witness. It was important to be present within the improvisational movement practice, and to observe myself through mindfulness, self-reflection, and the aid of technology. This interplay was present during my data collection and analysis phases of research. Then, during my presentation of findings/performance, the witness role shifted to my audience members.

The aforementioned aspects are conducive to my role as an emerging dance/movement therapist, supporting the creative and expressive nature of DMT, and fostering the ability to react in the moment to a given situation/ stimuli. Although no witnesses were present during the data collection phase, I responded to my present moment experience around the relevant concept being explored, allowing thoughts, emotions, sensations, and five senses perception to surface. This process also allowed me to explore body knowledge/body prejudice (BK/BP), or personal movement predisposition, as a mover and human with myriad experiences and biases. Moore and Yamamoto (2012) observed that humans have an innate dichotomy, with a concrete world of visceral experience and an abstract universe of symbols. Improvisation allows for a more

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effortless link between concrete perceptions and abstract interpretations, where creating

movement based on abstract concepts and allowing tangible/sensory experience to emerge, thus uncovers potential body knowledge and body prejudice.

Participants

The rationale for my population selection lies within the nature of self-reflection. I was the sole researcher and participant. At the time of the study, I was a 23 year old, Caucasian female living in Chicago, Illinois. The data was collected in a dance studio, in downtown Chicago, large enough to house solo movement exploration. Since learning that research is a systematic and diligent inquiry into a given subject, I found that perhaps the subject of most interest was my own – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It was a challenge to justify investigating a subject as the sole participant, as comparisons to peers’ studies arose. I practiced being selfish, delving into the subject of personal journey as an emerging dance/movement therapist, student, artist, and person. In additional clinical relevance, my orientation to humanistic theories aligned, emphasizing the notions of personal development and meaning making in the research process. Furthermore, it nurtured the part of my identity that strives for original thoughts, investigation, and imagination.

Methods

The methods of this study included a number of steps and ritual practices. First, space and time needed to be provided for the study to take place. I reserved the above mentioned dance studio for 15 weeks (semester long) – 12 weekly sessions for data collection, and three weekly sessions for recuperation, self-reflection, and data analysis. This process began in February 2013 and ended in May 2013. One day out of the week, I entered the space with a specific intention. Each session was focused on an identified aspect of impermanence; stability, mobility, rigidity,

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chaos, tension, and release. I organized these concepts by dichotomies according to their opposing identities, for example tension and release were paired together as they relate to muscular tension in the body. These concepts/dichotomies were chosen based on my

understanding of different theories, systems, and taxonomies of body movements and mental expressions, including but not limited to LMA, Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP), Siegel’s (2012) attachment theory, bioenergetics, and postmodern dance technique.

Due to the fact that there were only six identified concepts to explore, I investigated each specified concept twice. The first session, exploring a concept, consisted of mental

preparation/mindfulness practice, improvisation of movement/art making, and

self-reflection/journaling. Finally, the second session, exploring the identical concept, consisted of the same practice, as well as noting themes arising in movement and culminating in a concrete, repeatable movement sequence or dance. This allowed for the ephemeral and subjective

experience to crystallize into a tangible souvenir. This practice also fulfilled the intention of creating DMT interventions from indicated concepts. This repeated six times. At the end of the semester, I had a substantial collection of data.

Data collection. The data took shape in the three forms. Video recording via my personal computer camera captured the movement/embodiment experiences and DMT

interventions. I categorized this as the aesthetic experience, ephemeral yet observable. Journal entries and responsive drawings captured the written and self-reflective experiences. I

categorized this as the kinesthetic experience, turning non-verbal experience into a verbal and written expression. The kinesthetic experiences’ processing took place in the studio, directly after the improvisation sessions, in order to capture my immediate impressions on paper. Thirdly, a Movement Assessment Coding Sheet (MACS) was used to record observations of the DMT

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interventions specifically (see Appendix B). Coding my MACS took place in the interim outside of sessions and after a dichotomy, such as stability and mobility, was finished being explored. I used the video recordings as observable data to code my MACS. Each of the 12 data collection sessions remained open to the ongoing evolutionary process and preliminary narrative data analysis findings after each experience.

Instrumentation and movement tools. The fleeting nature of motion and the limited capacities of the perceptual system are obstacles to reliable observation and description (Cruz & Berrol, 2004). Therefore, the observations were mediated by technical means, such as video recording. Certain languages and taxonomies of organizing movement were used as a tool of data collection and observation. Using both LMA and KMP lenses, I revisited the recorded DMT interventions. This process included sub steps as well. I had four rounds of observation per video. First, the task was to simply observe the recorded movement, secondly to identify the salient movement categories, thirdly to code in real-time within the acknowledged categories, and finally to double-check the coding and revise, if necessary. This took place after each dichotomy’s interventions were created, such as chaos and rigidity, coding two at a time, with three coding periods per six total concepts.

I used an observation process outlined by Moore (2010) as relax, attune, find a point of concentration, and recuperate. Due to the personal investigative nature of this study, it was easy to become engulfed in the subjective and ever-evolving data. I relaxed by focusing on the breath, entering into a mindfulness practice that mirrored the data collection session itself. During the attunement part of the observation process, mirror neurons were triggered, eliciting the same kinesthetic response as during the movement experience (Rizzolatti, 2004). It was important to recognize these but not have them influence the coding process. The point of concentration

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consisted of focusing on specified movement categories within the MACS. And finally, recuperation included introducing a change of focus, connecting to my breath again, and/or closing my eyes. The physicality of writing on the MACS paper, paired with the prescribed observation process, allowed me to recognize and implement internal boundaries as the

researcher and participant. This was vital to keep a fresh eye on the observed movement and to integrate recuperation within the process.

The defined movement categories were viewed through the LMA and KMP perspectives. At the time of the study, I did not yet hold the credential of Graduate Laban Certificate in

Movement Analysis (GL-CMA). The information and training I acquired was within my graduate program’s Observation and Assessment I and II courses. Within LMA, the movement categories included Body, Effort, Shape, and Space. And within KMP, the movement categories included System I and System II. Further illumination about what was observed and coded, specifically, can be viewed in the summary of salient data (see Table 1).

Data analysis. At the end of each two-week concept exploration, I conducted a

preliminary organization and analysis of the data. I first categorized the written, self-reflective journal entries using Sensorimotor Psychotherapy’s five core organizers as a guideline. Ogden (2006) explained that these five core organizers consist of thoughts (cognition), feelings (emotions), five sense perceptions (sight, smell, touch, taste, sound), body sensations, and movement. As these five themes began to surface, it proved conducive to the tendencies of the written data. These tendencies or patterns emerged in relationship to the explored concept: cognition patterns, emotional patterns, five senses perceptional patterns, sensational patterns, and movement patterns. Some of the these categories then shifted to other themes with which to

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further organize data; five sense perception changed to relationship to the present moment, and movement patterns took on the language and taxonomy of LMA.

The DMT interventions, captured by both video recording and MACS documents, were understood as observable and organized forms, respectively, of the same facet of data. This provided a concrete way to describe the observable movement. It is important to note that full improvisation sessions, including the entire experience of embodying a given concept, were left as raw data, to later be used as a means of creating the presentation of findings in the form of choreography and performance.

Cruz and Berrol (2004) declared that there is no one correct way to organize the themes found in the data. It takes trial and error, willingness to “not know” (p. 134), and immersion in the data before the data can begin to yield results. This perspective allowed the focus to shift from a micro, line-by-line, analysis to a broader sense of connection and understanding. I began to view the data through the lens of a story, my story and relationship to impermanence as a whole. Using Reissman’s (2008) Narrative Analysis as a guidepost, the data was then analyzed on a macroscopic, thematic, and story-telling level. The idea was to bring forward the overall conversation between all data and my relationship to impermanence, ultimately letting go and accepting change. Another facet to the data analysis was bringing attention to the storied form of created DMT interventions’ movement data: how the primary researcher might sequence events, utilize visual images, and communicate nonverbally via gesture or body movement (Riessman, 2008). Narrative analysis focuses on the intention and particularities of language by asking “How?” and “Why?” within the data analysis process (Reissman, 2008, p. 12). I chose the specific kind of narrative data analysis – thematic, structural, dialogic, visual, and/or combinations – in response to improvisation outcomes, styles, and patterns.

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Conceptualizing the eventual presentation of findings was helpful to look at the data on a macro, holistic, and aesthetic level. Bruscia (1998) defined aesthetic integrity as the quality of the beauty in the study. The theoretical base of artistic inquiry is built on the idea of aesthetics. Bruscia referred to the relevance, creativity, and awareness brought forth as guidelines for aesthetic integrity (Cruz & Berrol, 2004). Hence my research methods, and means of presenting my research, also demonstrated this level of aesthetic and artistic integrity.

Performance. Following that data collection and analysis stages of research, I developed my presentation of findings. As an artistic inquiry methodology, I chose to do this in the form of a dance performance. Specific aspects from each facet of data were synthesized using my

intuition and aesthetic preferences. I expressed each concept, drawing from salient

improvisational movement qualities, DMT interventions’ movement qualities, and journal themes/ patterns/ artwork. Therefore, I determined the themes and salient features of each concept’s data, resulting in certain choreographic choices (See Table 1).

Table 1: Impermanence concepts’ salient data and choreographic choices Concept Improvisational

movement qualities DMT interventions’ movement qualities Journal themes/patterns/ artwork

Resulting choreographic choices Stability _• Breath total

body pattern of connectivity • Bound flow • Even effort phrasing • Stable state (space and weight) • 1D, 2D use of space • Central approach to kinesphere • Breath/ core-distal head-tail total body patterns of connectivity • Bound flow • Stable state (directing space and increasing/ decreasing pressure) • Even effort phrasing • Shape flow (growing and • Feelings of limitation • Thoughts of “contained in”/ “defined limits”, “being stuck”, “aware of pelvis”, “spatial clarity” • Body sensations of warmth • Imagery of being in a cylindrical container/ • Audible breath and soft music • Expressing internal breath support • Slow pacing, gradual build in intensity • Recreating cylindrical shapes in body • Facilitating

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shrinking) in the torso

• Near reach space • 1D use of space • Central approach to kinesphere • Gradual timing, low intensity structures • Angular shapes stable state in body • Expressing grounding through body shapes, breath, and flow of movement Mobility • Core-distal total

body pattern of connectivity • Free flow • Swing effort phrasing • Mobile state

(flow and time) • 3D use of space • Transverse approach to kinesphere • High intensity • Breath, core-distal, upper-lower total body patterns of connectivity • Mobile state (freeing flow, accelerating time) • Swing/buoyant effort phrasing • 3D use of space • Transverse approach to kinesphere • Carving and arcing modes of shape change • Gradual timing, high intensity • Feelings of resilience • Bodily sensations of tingling and rushing of blood • Imagery of perpetual motion • Imagery of energy streaming outward • Thoughts of “being off vertical”, “constantly moving”, “potential for new movement to happen” • Diagonal, complex shapes • Perpetual, instrumental music • Constant pacing • Quick moving/ less gradual build in intensity • Recreating 3D use of space • Facilitating mobile state in body • Expressing lack of grounding with jumps, spins, and quick movements through space Rigidity _• Body-half total

body pattern of connectivity • Bound flow • Wringing action drive • Rhythm state (weight and time) • 1D use of space • Small kinesphere • Head-tail, body-half, upper-lower total body patterns of connectivity • Bound flow • Rhythm state (increasing pressure, decelerating time) • Wringing action • Feelings of limitation, nervousness, and anxiety • Thoughts of “no options”, “no choices”, “no where to go” • Body sensations of tingling towards midline • Ominous/ harsh vocals/ music • Slow pacing, stillness • Recreating imagery with ball body shape • Expressing simplicity through few

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• Central approach to kinesphere • Ball body shape

pressure, decelerating time, and indirecting space) • 1D use of space • Central approach to kinesphere • Gradual timing, high intensity being stuck/ tangled in mud or vines • Blank spaces on page choices • Laying and covering body in soil on the ground

Chaos _• Head-tail total body pattern of connectivity • Free flow • Passive weight • Passion transformation drive • Impulsive, impactive (accented) phrasing • 3D use of space • Large kinesphere • Peripheral approach to kinesphere • Screw body shape • Head-tail, cross-lateral total body patterns of connectivity • Free flow • Impactive (accented) phrasing • Passion transformation drive (increasing pressure, accelerating time, and free flow) • 2D, 3D use of space • Abrupt timing, high intensity • Feelings of exhaustion, sadness, anxiety, loss of control • Thoughts of “never feeling grounded”, “no spatial awareness”, “trust in myself”, “need constant recuperation” • Body sensations of warmth, tingling, dizziness • Imagery of external explosion • Condensed, circular shapes • High intensity, loud instruments/ vocals/ music • Quick pacing, abrupt/ surprising movements • Recreating disorientation / loss of awareness of space with internal focus • Building muscular tension to then release outward • Expressing lack of safety/ risk taking with jumps, turns, and abrupt movements • Expressing lack of boundaries by jumping off stage Tension • Upper-lower total body pattern of • Upper-lower total body pattern of connectivity • Feelings of limitation, exhaustion • Slow, intensity building

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• Bound flow • Increasing pressure • Even effort phrasing • 1D, 2D uses of space • Central approach to kinesphere • Wall, ball body

shapes • Rhythm state (increasing pressure, decelerating time)

• Press action drive (increasing pressure, decelerating time, and directing space) • 1D, 2D use of space • Central, peripheral approach to kinesphere • Wall body shape • Gradual timing,

low intensity

am one with the Earth” • Thoughts of “bound, not changing” • Body sensations of muscular tension • Imagery of “hard but malleable” joints • Imagery of “wound up”, “interweave”, “twisted” • Tall, complex shapes • Slow pacing, stillness • Building muscular tension with gripping and flexing movements • Recreating imagery with contorted body shapes • Expressing internal tension with stillness • Laying and covering body in soil on the ground Release _• Head-tail, cross-lateral total body pattern of connectivity • Free flow • Decreasing pressure • Even, buoyant effort phrasing • 1D, 3D use of space • Central approach to kinesphere • Low intensity • Head-tail, body-half, and cross-lateral total body pattern of connectivity • Free flow • Dream state (decreasing pressure, freeing flow) • Resilient/ buoyant effort phrasing • 1D, 3D use of space • Central, transverse approach to kinepshere • Gradual timing, low intensity • Feelings of comfort • Thoughts of “trust” • Body sensations of warmth, tingling, light-headedness • Imagery of undulating waves, fluidity, womb-like • Cloud/ fluffy shapes • Lighter, pleasant instrumental music • Releasing muscular tension with flowing and escaping movements • Recreating imagery with undulating movements • Moving, splashing and engaging with water in pool

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was an evening-length solo exploration, I shared the stage/space with certain set items, such as soil and water. I chose these organic elements to illuminate certain aspects of the data. For example, I used soil as an illumination of bound flow, during rigidity and tension embodiments, representing grounding yet restricting energy. While dancing in the soil, I removed a layer of my costume, representing vulnerability and authenticity. Also, I used water as an illumination of free flow, during the release embodiment, serving as a symbol for washing the dirt clean and

becoming new. I also shared the space with the audience, my witnesses, who were recruited via marketing materials, such as posters and postcards, sharing through social media, email, and promoting to the DMT community.

The performance, titled Letting Go/Letting Be, took place on the evening of April 16, 2014, at the Conaway Center of Columbia College Chicago. The space was vast with high ceilings and deep rows of chairs. The stage was elevated slightly and surrounded by giant pillars. I used the area beside the stage to set the soil and water. I outlined the stage with candles to provide intimate lighting. During the beginning of the performance, I invited my audience members to join me in a Buddha board exploration, or small easel that is painted on with water, promoting mindfulness and creativity. The water marks on the easel as dark strokes, dries, and slowly fades away. I used a projector screen to enlarge my Buddha board, as I painted, engaging in this practice with the audience. The order of the performance was slightly different than the data collection process, presenting the interventions/embodiments as a seamless and narrative progression with transitions and musical interludes(see Appendix F). I ended the evening with a question and answer session. The performance was captured on video and can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xZdcLXqWGI .

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Validation Strategy

Cruz and Berrol (2004) stated that, within movement observation, perception could be compromised by selectivity, prior knowledge, interpretation, and other factors. As a single research subject, artistic inquiry study, validation was addressed through a resonance panel triangulation strategy. The feedback from the resonance panel served as one point, and my MACS and personal journal as the other two points.

Recruitment procedure. After the data collection, analysis, and presentation processes, I began to recruit a resonance panel. I had intended to recruit experts in the fields of DMT, artistic improvisation, mindfulness practices, movement analysis, narrative analysis and/or

psychotherapeutic change. I knew that professionals with these credentials existed; it was just a matter of availability and willingness to participate. The recruitment process consisted of directly asking, via email or in person, colleagues within the DMT network of professionals. I used a letter format, outlining my study and expectations for participation (see Appendix D). Once I received word back that there was interest and willingness, I responded with the premise and motivation of the study, research question, and MACS for further detail. I did not want to send any raw or analyzed data, as it would presumably hinder each participant’s ability to view the data with a novel and unbiased lens. As the date of the panel neared, I sent an outline of events, what to expect, and made myself available for any questions or co